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LookingS HARP Volume 13, Issue 1 Winter 2013 “Improving Safety & Health For SHARP Companies”
In This Issue
See Haz Com 2012, page 4
Haz Com 2012: New Regulations
for Worker Safety & Health
“HazCom 2012”, “HCS 2012”, and “Globally Harmo-nized
System” sound like marketing buzzwords for
a safety standard that was, until this past year, un-changed
since 1994. Why does it matter? Because of
the more than 300 million people in the United States,
30 million or more are exposed to hazardous chemi-cals
used in their workplace. It’s not by any means a
small issue.
OSHA’s update to the Hazard Communication Stan-dard
(HCS) came into effect on May 25, 2012, align-ing
OSHA’s hazard communication standard with the
UN’s international guidelines known as the Globally
Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of
Chemicals (GHS). The GHS sets out a common inter-national
format to classifying chemical hazards and or-ganizing
safety information, with the net goal of mak-ing
safety information easier to obtain and understand,
regardless of an employee’s primary language or level
of literacy: a distinct difference when most data sheets
are written at the college reading level. If the original
OSHA HCS gave employees “the right to know”, the
2012 updates are designed to add “the right to under-stand”.
Beyond that, a standardized format for chemi-cal
safety information will make training easier and
cheaper for employers; OSHA estimates that costs
in updating to the new standard will be offset by the
lower cost of simplified training, not even including the
increased productivity from less time lost to miscom-munication
or accidents.
The HCS 2012 updates modifies the extant 1994
standard to parallel the GHS where appropriate; parts
of it already consistent or unrelated are unchanged.
The three main changes are terminology, labeling,
and safety data sheets; the GHS does not specify
Hazard Communication Programs within a business,
and OSHA’s regulations for section (e) of 1910.1200
remain unchanged. “Hazard determination” has
changed to “hazard classification”, and the “material”
of MSDS has been dropped, leaving just “safety data
by Alex Putnam
It’s a New Year, and the Mayans finally figured out
that when your calendar runs out, you just go and get
a new one. No gloom or doom, just a brand new year
full of new potential.
Now’s the perfect time to go back and take a look
at your safety and health management system. What
worked for you in 2012? What didn’t? What chang-es
can you make to turn those weaknesses into
strengths? Have you made any ‘Safety Resolutions’
yet? We call them goals, and now’s the perfect time to
set new goals so that this time next year, you can look
back and see how far you’ve come!
2012 was a year full of changes at the Department of
Labor, and more changes are ahead. There are new
standards, and new points of view from OSHA to share
in this, the first issue of Looking SHARP for 2013.
Haz Com 2012: New Regulations for Worker
Safety & Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Preventing Falls In Construction. . . . . . . . . . 2
OSHA Releases eTool for Cadmium . . . . . . 3
Flu Expected To Spike In Coming Months . .3
The Writer’s Block: Happy Trails . . . . . . . .4
Recognizing Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
CDC Reports Drowsy Driving Common . . . .5
Things That Make You Go ‘Huh’? . . . . . . . 5
Happy New Year!

LookingS HARP Volume 13, Issue 1 Winter 2013 “Improving Safety & Health For SHARP Companies”
In This Issue
See Haz Com 2012, page 4
Haz Com 2012: New Regulations
for Worker Safety & Health
“HazCom 2012”, “HCS 2012”, and “Globally Harmo-nized
System” sound like marketing buzzwords for
a safety standard that was, until this past year, un-changed
since 1994. Why does it matter? Because of
the more than 300 million people in the United States,
30 million or more are exposed to hazardous chemi-cals
used in their workplace. It’s not by any means a
small issue.
OSHA’s update to the Hazard Communication Stan-dard
(HCS) came into effect on May 25, 2012, align-ing
OSHA’s hazard communication standard with the
UN’s international guidelines known as the Globally
Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of
Chemicals (GHS). The GHS sets out a common inter-national
format to classifying chemical hazards and or-ganizing
safety information, with the net goal of mak-ing
safety information easier to obtain and understand,
regardless of an employee’s primary language or level
of literacy: a distinct difference when most data sheets
are written at the college reading level. If the original
OSHA HCS gave employees “the right to know”, the
2012 updates are designed to add “the right to under-stand”.
Beyond that, a standardized format for chemi-cal
safety information will make training easier and
cheaper for employers; OSHA estimates that costs
in updating to the new standard will be offset by the
lower cost of simplified training, not even including the
increased productivity from less time lost to miscom-munication
or accidents.
The HCS 2012 updates modifies the extant 1994
standard to parallel the GHS where appropriate; parts
of it already consistent or unrelated are unchanged.
The three main changes are terminology, labeling,
and safety data sheets; the GHS does not specify
Hazard Communication Programs within a business,
and OSHA’s regulations for section (e) of 1910.1200
remain unchanged. “Hazard determination” has
changed to “hazard classification”, and the “material”
of MSDS has been dropped, leaving just “safety data
by Alex Putnam
It’s a New Year, and the Mayans finally figured out
that when your calendar runs out, you just go and get
a new one. No gloom or doom, just a brand new year
full of new potential.
Now’s the perfect time to go back and take a look
at your safety and health management system. What
worked for you in 2012? What didn’t? What chang-es
can you make to turn those weaknesses into
strengths? Have you made any ‘Safety Resolutions’
yet? We call them goals, and now’s the perfect time to
set new goals so that this time next year, you can look
back and see how far you’ve come!
2012 was a year full of changes at the Department of
Labor, and more changes are ahead. There are new
standards, and new points of view from OSHA to share
in this, the first issue of Looking SHARP for 2013.
Haz Com 2012: New Regulations for Worker
Safety & Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Preventing Falls In Construction. . . . . . . . . . 2
OSHA Releases eTool for Cadmium . . . . . . 3
Flu Expected To Spike In Coming Months . .3
The Writer’s Block: Happy Trails . . . . . . . .4
Recognizing Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
CDC Reports Drowsy Driving Common . . . .5
Things That Make You Go ‘Huh’? . . . . . . . 5
Happy New Year!